September 15, 2007

The Relevance and Challenges to Priestly Ministry Today

Introduction

In the modern cyber age, where everything is having drastic changes in seconds, and the consumerist culture is predominant, a life which can be fully shared for others is of great importance. When we go deep in to one of those life style or the way, the Catholic Priesthood is worthy to study. Its relevance and challenges faced now are discussed in this paper, for it I made use of some books, internet and suggestions from my friends inside the seminary and out side the seminary. But most of the things produced in this paper is my opinion, I don’t know whether many will agree with me or not, my vision of priesthood and the difficulties which I found in the last 15 years of life as a seminarian I have included in it.

The Relevance

The greatest need of priesthood is to connect today’s world and Gospel, and all Christian life to how the Gospel of Jesus actually can have an effect on our lives and our world and make it the best possible place. There only we find the relevance of priesthood. Through sacraments, sacramentals and the official prayers he can only fulfill half of his obligation. The need of a priest for today’s men is declining in some areas, but in many areas it is increasing. The old style of life can’t be continued in today’s world for a priest, he should be a multi-talented person. Some many say that he needs to be only a man of prayer and he should be available for the faithful at their needs, I don’t deny the basic ingredients of the priesthood, all the above said characteristics are the basic qualities for a priest. But he should be a man who can adjust with the changing faces of the world without sacrificing the basic moral values along with Catholic moral positions.

I think for some the priesthood or even the Christian life is not seen as attractive because people have difficulty connecting how this "religion" thing can have an effect on our daily lives and make a difference. People are searching after religious experience now. Just like the experience when we take drugs. So, I personally think that we need to take the example of Jesus from the Gospel Luke 16:1-13, especially where Jesus observes that the people of this world are often more clever and energetic in the things of this world than are his own followers, and I suppose Jesus wanted his followers to get smart and get creative. Jesus once said that as followers of him we need to be as clever as foxes and yet as gentle as doves. This gospel basically says that Priest need to be as cunning and resourceful and "calculating" (in a good way and an honest way) to find new and effective ways of getting across to people that this Jesus person is worth following and can make a difference in their lives.

I think, then, that we Christians should put a lot more time and effort and creativity and planning into the values and vision of Jesus. We too can lie awake at night tricky. but not to make a pile of money on the stock-market, like people who place all their value in material things, but on how to better get across the word of God and how better to live it. Spreading the word of God around the globe is easy now but to Live according to it is getting harder. And many are trying to impose their own way along with the preaching.

So, for me as a Christian, the greatest need I see is to get people to see and understand that following Jesus is a worthy and life-giving thing. Being a priest doesn't make any sense unless one is passionate about the person Jesus was and how he lived and what his vision is and how he wants us to live....

There is a story about a man who saw a pack of five dogs chasing after a rabbit.......... a few hours later the man saw the rabbit still running, but now there were only two dogs chasing it....... The man asked a friend who was with him, "what happened to the other three dogs..... why did they give up... and these two dogs are still going....". And his wise friend said, "I suppose these two dogs kept going, because they were the ones that saw the rabbit... (the others were probably just following the pack of dogs)." The meaning of this being.... if we want to be passionate followers of Jesus, we have to nurture a vision of who Jesus was.

The immediate need we have in relation to priesthood is that we need more people to consider that priesthood is a valuable thing. We need to get across that the image and stereotype of a priest (that one gets from t.v) is not at all accurate. Priests have a lot of fun, it’s a rewarding life and full of variety.... We also need people to move away from an individualist attitude that says that all that matters is what is good for me... I don't need others. We need to realize that "no person is an island, complete of itself:" that we all belong to a community and we have a responsibility for the welfare of others. So, being a Christian means not just praying alone... but gathering in community and sharing Eucharist. Once people see a value in coming to Mass to gather in community, worship God, hear about Jesus in the Gospels, listen to some practical suggestions for applying this message to their everyday life, and being nourished by God's word, then we should also get people who are happy to want to serve people by being priests, the ones who minister to people's spiritual and community needs. He should not be a person who just excited with one priests speech or one Charismatic retreat, he should be of a good family background and a sound mind.

The Challenges

The challenges we are going to face are many. Firstly, I think people have an attitude that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. They don't know much about their own faith and religion and so they go to other religions and like what they find. The Catholic Church has great respect for other religions but it also challenges its members to investigate deeply into the many riches that their own church has that many simple do not know about..... The more I have studied into my own catholic faith the more I have found myself saying..."wow, why didn't they teach me this in school, the catholic religion has also faced and dealt with all the big issues and questions of life, and the reason many people think the church is out of touch is because they are actually out of touch or ignorant of the things the church is doing and has taught on these issues." There is a saying, "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing." People need to do a lot of study and reflection before they write off their own faith, and yet sadly people are not putting this time and effort into this exploring.

Other challenges include the fact that we live in a society that values money and position and body image and so many other things, the Christian faith has a lot to offer about the true worth of people and yet there are so many louder and more attractive voices competing with its message.

Also, the church sometimes isn't seen to be living out the gospel message as clearly as it might like. People see the sinfulness that is part of any group of humans and people are tempted to write off the message as not real. But there is another saying, a joke that has a bit of truth. "It is not that Christianity doesn't work, it's just that no one has really tried it yet". We can’t deny the fact that there are the human elements which sometimes override the divine element for a short period of time, may affect the community harmfully.

The rewards of priesthood are many. You get to meet and relate to people and share precious moments at really important and key moments of their lives....... holy moments... sacred moments... like births, marriages, celebrations, anniversaries, weekly Mass to give them spiritual nourishment, when people are sick or dying and with families when someone has died..... Priests are with people at incredibly important times of their lives and this is an incredible honour. As a seminarian and a lecturer in a college I enjoyed my life by relating with people of many ages and those people with many aims. Our suggestions or just friendships they value greatly, especially my non-Christian friends and their family.

The variety and the scope of our ministry is what is so rewarding. As a software professional I know that, if I m outside this priesthood my area of working is limited to a company or to a person, but now it’s for the whole world that I can work for, I don’t need to summit my weekly work chart to anybody only to Jesus I need to.

Some of the other important challenges are:
• Decrease in the number of faithful
• Decrease in the birth rate of the Christian faithful
• Reluctance of many professional from marriage and parenthood.

• The administrative problems in the priestly community itself
• The formation of future priests and the decreasing vocation

• In India the challenges from Hindu dominated governments and groups. (Anti-Conversion bill)
• Denial of fundamental rights to Christian community

Conclusion

In HIS apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (1994), Pope John Paul II called upon Roman Catholics to prepare for the new millennium through an examination of conscience, an honest review of how Catholic Christians have betrayed the gospel and have caused harm even when acting in the name of Jesus Christ. While John Paul has publicly expressed regret and prayed for forgiveness for Catholics' past failings in certain areas. He and the staff of the Roman Curia have ruled other topics, notably many issues relating to the ministerial priesthood. We honesty need to examine not only past but also present institutional and personal failings from the part of priests and religious communities.

Let us pray that the human side of the Church be under the full guidance of the divine element, let us give the charge to Holy Spirit to guide our Church. Priests are only caretakers and custodians of the temporal goods of the Church not its owners. Let us remember it in our daily relations while we are holding a responsible position in the church.



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